Work Text:
Anya sat at her little cubicle, eyes on the clock, waiting for the second hand to go around fifteen more times. Then she would be free for the weekend she had planned with her fiancee. It was the beginning of the month, so all of the writers were just deciding what their article was to be about. Anya already knew and had done enough research for the day. Her article was about travel, and since summer was approaching she did what she always did this time of year. A guide to traveling safe, with a true story horror story at the start. This month it would be about a man who went to Europe without adapters and came home minus an arm. She had an interview set up with him next week. Her best friend and co-worker Lexa could be heard on the phone in her next door cubicle. Lexa wrote an LGBT column. This month was about the Bury Your Gays trope. Lexa had to be on the phone with a show runner whose show had fallen under fire for using the trope. What was his name? Jared? Rattenburger? Or something.
"Hey, guys, look at the news!" Caris's voice carried over the office.
Everyone's eyes raised to the small TV in the corner. A woman was talking with an image of a crash behind her on the green screen.
"Turn it up!" Called Emori.
Someone grabbed the remote and the volume bars raised.
"We have a news chopper in the air." The anchor woman announced and the screen changed to footage from the helicopter circling around the crash.
"Isn't that Greenway?" Lexa asked.
Anya tensed and looked closer. Yes, it was. Greenway was the busy street Raven took to work everyday and always whined about.
"Both drivers have been taken to hospital." The woman's voice spoke over the footage as the camera zoomed in on the cars.
"No." Anya gasped. There was a demolished red car, and the hood had bits of black paint on it. Before the crash that paint would have looked like a raven. Raven's car was in pieces.
"We are now getting reports that one driver has died."
Anya shot from her seat.
"Anya! Anya!" Lexa grabbed Anya's jacket.
"Let me go, I have to get to her!"
"You don't even know what hospital she's at! Let me call Clarke, ok?"
"What if she's dead Lex? What if she's gone?" Anya was nearly crying.
"Let's just get to her first. Clarke, do you know where-your hospital? Ok. Do you-no, alright. Anya and I are coming." Lexa hung up.
Anya led the way down the stairs and to the parking lot.
"I'm driving." Lexa announced.
"Just hurry."
The drive to Griffin Memorial Hospital was taking too long. Traffic was backed up because of the crash. A cop car sat at a corner, monitoring traffic. Anya recognized the officer inside. She rolled down her window.
"Lincoln!"
"An? What are you-"
"Raven was in the crash!"
"Oh shit!"
"The traffic-" Anya was choking on the words.
"Let me see what I can do." Lincoln went to the radio in his car. A minute later her turned on his lights and pulled in front of Lexa's car.
Lexa got the hint and turned on her blinkers. Now they were getting through traffic much easier. Clarke met them at the doors, tears streaming down her face. Anya reached her first.
"Please..."
"Mom is operating on her." Clarke announced, hugging herself.
"She's alive? Thank god!" Lexa wrapped her girlfriend in her arms.
'Where?" Anya demanded.
"Third floor. There's a waiting room for the OR's."
Anya was gone. She had never climbed stairs so fast. A handful of people were scattered around. Two large red doors led to the OR's according to the sign. Anya wasn't stupid enough to go through, she couldn't contaminate anything. So she sat, in the closest chair facing the doors. Hands clasped together, knee bouncing, her eyes didn't come off the door. Eventually Lexa joined her. They didn't need to talk. A couple hours later Clarke gave them both coffee.
"Why is it taking so long?" Anya growled.
"There was...a lot of damage. A piece of the door was lodged in her back." Clarke informed them. "If she makes it-"
Anya looked from the door for the first time to glare at Clarke. The blonde shrunk back and sighed.
"It's gonna take a while to recover." Clarke finished.
A figure approached the doors from the other side. They swung open and Abigail took off her bloody surgery cap.
"She's alive. Barely." Abigail began, Anya's shoulders slumped with a bit of relief. "We won't really know until she makes it through the night. We'll be keeping her unconscious until then."
"Can I stay with her?" Anya asked quietly.
"Of course. We'll let her wake up tomorrow based on how well things go." Abigail assured her "The nurses are bringing her up to her room, I pulled a few strings and got her a private one. I'll bring you to her once she's settled."
Anya paced around the waiting room for twenty minutes until Abigail took them upstairs. Raven lay on the bed, pale as Anya had ever seen her. Bruises littered her face. There were stitches along one cheek. Casts covered most of her. Anya froze in the doorway, processing.
"She broke her nose, both arms, her right leg, a couple ribs, had internal bleeding, a severe concussion. We removed a piece of metal from her spine. We won't know the extent of the damage from that until she wakes up."
"You mean, she could be paralyzed?" Lexa asked.
"It's possible."
Anya moved toward the bed, hands shaking over Raven's body, unsure of where to touch. Finally she settled on Raven's one free hand and the other pet her hair. Lexa pulled a chair out for her and encouraged her to sit. For a few hours Anya just spoke to Raven. About how excited she was for their wedding, that Anya's dress was beautiful. That she couldn't wait to see Raven in her white tux, and that they all had bets out on how soon it would get stained.
When it got dark out Clarke brought her dinner and a cot. Only when she couldn't make her eyes stay open did Anya crawl onto the cot and sleep. It was Friday, she didn't need to worry about calling in to work. She woke when Abigail gently shook her shoulder.
"Hey, we're gonna take her off the anesthetic. It'll still take a while for her to wake up. Why don't you go stretch for a moment while we're in here." Abigail suggested.
"Ok." Anya nodded and gave Raven a kiss before leaving the room.
She walked around a bit, went to the washroom and tried to freshen up. Anya bought a cup of coffee and a salad and made her way back towards Raven's room. Abigail was outside the room, hands wrung together, and a bad look on her face.
"What's wrong? What's happened?" Anya strode down the hallway quicker now.
"I'm so sorry Anya...Raven's slipped into a coma."
Anya watched the clock strike five. She no longer rushed out of her seat. Instead she cleaned up her work space and slowly made her way to the parking lot. Her life now had a regular routine. Wake up, work, sit with Raven for a while, jiu jitsu class, bed. The traffic was bad as usual, especially since she had been avoiding one road now. Her parking was nearly robotic now, as was the walk into the hospital. She waved hello to several familiar nurses and doctors now. There was even a child in a wheelchair often causing ruckus that she had befriended.
"Hello, Tris."
"Hey Anya. If you see Dr. Jaha..."
"I haven't seen you."
"Awesome, thanks!"
Anya smiled as the child wheeled away. She was one of the only bright things in this hospital. Finally she reached Raven's room. A couple bouquets of flowers were on the bedside table, from distant family. A couple toy car were lined along the foot of the bed, from Sinclair. Art decorated the walls from Clarke. Lexa had brought a collection of books. Everyone at work and friends had chipped in and rented her a comfier bed. There was a stuffed raven toy beside her pillow, Anya didn't know who brought that.
All the casts were gone now. The cuts and bruises all healed. Instead there was a tube down her throat, making her breath. Anya teared up as she sat beside the woman and stroked her cheek.
"Hi Little Bird." Anya pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Have you had a good day?"
Anya stayed, petting, stroking, caressing, just touching the rightfully skinny woman for a couple moments. She moved to the chair and picked up a book of poems. For half an hour she read them aloud. But her heart just wasn't in reading today, so she set it down. Taking one of Raven's hands in her own she let the tears fall.
"We were supposed to get married today." Anya sniffled. "In Clarke and Lexa's giant back yard. Indra got ordained to marry us. There was going to be cake, oh I knew you were going to throw some at me to get me mad, but I wouldn't care now. It's been seven months, Rae, I need you to wake up. Please."
"Hey, Anya! Help me hide!" Tris came barreling towards the woman standing in the courtyard.
Anya laughed at the look of the guilty child.
"What did you do this time?"
"Nothing! Well, I mean, nothing they can prove!"
"Smart girl."
"Crap, there's Dr. Griffin!"
Anya wheeled the chair behind a bush and approached the young blonde doctor obviously searching for something, or someone.
"Hello, Clarke."
"Hi Anya. Have you seen a young girl in a wheelchair, her name is Tris?" Clarke asked hopefully.
"No, why.
"I have to reprimand her from stealing from the gift shop."
"Not gonna make her return it? Was it candy?" Anya walked with the doctor.
"No, we can't prove that she took it, but the gift store guy said it was her. She was the last one he saw looking at the stuffed raven toy."
"You mean..."
"That one that appeared in Raven's room the other day, yeah...My mom says's she's acting out more now because we're looking for a family for her.
"What?"
"Oh, yeah, her parents died in the crash and she had no one else. A social service worker is coming soon. That's really why I need her."
Anya felt a settling inside her. Adopt Tris. So after her visit with Raven she spoke to the service worker and worked things out. It was a little tricky convincing the man a single woman who visited a hospital everyday but eventually she won. Tris pushed herself out of her chair to hug Anya when the news was announced. Now Anya had a new routine.
Wake up, Wake Tris up, take Tris to school, got to work, pick Tris up from school, and they would go to the hospital, then home for bed. Anya would sit with Raven while Tris did her physical therapy. For two more months that's how it worked. Anya began to look forward to things again. Like Tris's birthday, Tris getting the highest grade in the math class-which meant a trip to six flags where they got to cut all the lines, going out with friends again. But she always still made time for her heart. One day Lexa came with her for the visit.
"It's getting close." Lexa sighed.
"I know." After two months of Raven being in a coma, Anya had decided. She would give Raven a year to wake up. Then she would pull the plug. If Raven hadn't woken up in a year, she never would.
"Hey Anie, your phone is ringing!" Tris called to Anya, who was doing yoga in the dining room.
The sweating woman stopped and answered her phone.
"Doctor Griffin?" Anya asked, dread building in her stomach. Was something wrong with Raven.
"Hi Anya, I have someone dying to speak to you." Abigail said.
"Anya! I'm really gonna miss that car."
"Raven??" Anya fell to her knees.
"She's awake and asking for you." Abigail confirmed.
"Take a cab please, we all know you're a crap driver when you're emotional!" Raven could be heard yelling in the back.
"I was there just a couple hours ago, why couldn't you have waken up then!" Anya smiled as Tris rolled into the room.
"That would have been too easy!"
"I'll be there as soon as I can." Anya promised and hung up. "Raven woke up."
"About time." Tris smiled.
A cab drove them to the hospital, it took Greenway and Anya held her breath the whole time. Once at the hospital Anya was practically running. Finally they reached the door.
"Hey, I'm gonna go see Zach." Tris announced and rolled away.
Anya took a deep breath and stepped into the room. Raven's bed had been lifted so she was sitting up. She was listening to Clarke and Abigail talked. The conversation stopped when they noticed the other woman. Anya went straight to Raven and kissed her. The doctors left the room.
"Little Bird, you finally woke up." Anya was crying now.
"I'll never take Greenway again. Will that make you happy?" Raven's voice was hoarse, and she sounded tired.
"Yes."
"Good, now, I have some bad news.I uh...my left leg doesn't work." Raven shrugged and tears came to her eyes. Anya kissed them away.
"I have news too, I adopted a girl named Tris. She's the one who brought you that stuffy. Before I adopted her."
"She was a patient here and just bought me a toy?"
"She didn't buy it."
"I like this kid."
"I knew you would. You're exhausted, do you need to sleep?"
"Yeah, but two things. One...can we get married, like, tomorrow?"
"There's a cute garden outside." Anya nodded.
"Great. Two...lie with me?"
"The doctors might not like that."
"That makes it all the better. Besides, this is a really comfy bed."
Anya climbed in beside the woman and lay on her side, draping an arm over her. Raven tucked herself closer and nuzzled Anya's shirt.
"I love you. Please don't ever scare me again."
"I'll try not to. I love you too. One more question. Why?"
"Oh Raven, my heart was only made for loving you."